The beginning

In the 1980s, Ghislaine Radoux-Rogier, a member of the Catholic Maranatha Community and the widow of a Charleroi lawyer deeply committed to helping the underprivileged, continued his work in Brussels. She was attentive to all distress situations. welcoming all those in distress.

Getting organised

There was a lot of dedication but little organisation! Father Lambert, a member of the Congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption and founder of the Maranatha Community, asked Guy Leroy to help Ghislaine Radoux-Rogier. Assisted by a few volunteers, Guy established the foundations of the activity of Accompanying.

After his ordination to the priesthood in 1984, Father Guy extended his outreach to the homeless and underprivileged of the Ste Marie-Madeleine Church area in Brussels Centre, where he officiated. The embryo of Accompagner had emerged.

Year 2000

A new opportunity presented itself. The Congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption launched an international call for projects aimed specifically at supporting poor people. The project of accompanying in daily life in Brussels was approved.

An international non-profit association called “Accompagner” was created. Its mission would be to accompany people in difficulty in all the steps they need to take to defend their rights and enable them to regain their autonomy of action and assume their responsibilities within society. In this way, the association moved from one-off to ongoing assistance.

Year 2001

Offices were rented. Professional staff was hired. Requests for help kept on increasing. A more efficient and effective organisation was put in place.

Year 2004

The charitable NGO “ Action Vivre Ensemble ” recognises the relevance of the service provided by Accompagner and grants a financial support, which will be repeated in 2007 and 2009.

Year 2006

The international non-profit association Accompagner handed over the reins. A Belgian non-profit organization called “Les Amis d’Accompagner”, was created to take over and develop Accompagner’s work at national level. The objective was to increase the involvement of volunteers in the life of the project and make it sustainable.

Year 2007

The specific work of Les Amis d’Accompagner was recognized through the granting of financial aid from the Poverty Fund managed by the non-profit association “Fondation Roi Baudouin”. Les Amis d’Accompagner » was awarded the Prix du civisme (Citizenship Prize) by the Commune of Koekelberg..

Year 2009

Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid became the patron of Les Amis d’Accompagner for 2 years.

Year 2010

The Association was selected by the Commune of Koekelberg as part of the Communal Program for “Social Cohesion 2011-2015” organized by the Brussel Commission of the French Community (CoCoF). Les Amis d’Accompagner’s work in favour of newcomers was thus encouraged and the association was recognized as a “public interest” association.

Year 2011

The 15th May marked 10 years at the service of the most deprived. Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid renewed her High Patronage of “Les Amis d’Accompagner” for a further five years. Les Amis d’Accompagner also signed a three-year agreement with the non-profit NGO Action Vivre Ensemble.

Year 2012

The year 2012 was the year of volunteers! Their number was continuously increasing, as well as their commitment to the daily functioning of the Association. Work with partners intensifies, and their numbers were growing. On the financial front, the Ministry of Finance authorized the association to provide donors with a tax exemption certificate.

Year 2013

The NGO restructured its organisation. From now on two complementary services would function side by side in the Welcoming office. Socio-legal guidance would be run by five volunteers. Partner management would be operated under the responsibility of a Relationship Manager, who would receive requests for accompanying support from the social network. An Operational Manager would coordinate and supervise both services.

Year 2014

An incredibly busy year! We become members of the “Association pour une éthique dans la récolte des fonds” (AERF).

We received support from of “Médecins du Monde” (World’s Doctors) and a young French girl, a member of “Jeunes à travers le monde” (Young people across the world). This was a sign of recognition of the effectiveness of our action.. We also cooperated with the Catholic French-speaking Media

We improved our working and information resources by updating our website and making videos illustrating our activities…

Year 2015

This was undoubtedly the “year of recognition” of our project and the work we had been doing for 15 years! Once again, we were granted funding in the framework of the municipal Social Cohesion Programme 2011-2015 organised by the Commission communautaire française (Cocof – Commission of the French speaking Community of the Brussels Parliament) via the municipality of Koekelberg. At the same time, Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid renewed her High Patronage for a period of five years from April 2016. In addition, the Board of Directors of the “Forum bruxellois de lutte contre la pauvreté” (FBLP – Brussels forum for the fight against poverty – now “Le Forum”) accepted our application for membership, and invited us to sit in the Commission for the allocation of social housing in the commune of Koekelberg. Finally, the Association took on “another dimension” with the European subsidy received from the “Give Eur-Hope” (GEH) Association.

Year 2016

While this year saw us recognized through the acceptance of our application to join the “Conseil Bruxellois de coordination socio-politique” (CBCS – Brussels Council of socio-political coordination), it also saw a lot of energy spent on internal consolidation: we published a Welcoming Charter for our users, introduced the quarterly supervision of our socio-legal guidance staff by a psychologist, as well as started running quarterly round tables for our volunteers (intervision). Our evolution required new offices, which were furnished and equipped on the 1st and 2nd floor of our welcoming office.

Finally, we also published a case study by one of our volunteers: « “A reality check regarding the integration of refugees in society. What role for volunteering? as a “Testimony of accompanying a family of refugees.”

Year 2017

“Les Amis d’Accompagner” was recognised by a number of official bodies :

• The Association obtained a “initiative subsidy” from the Commission communautaire commune (COCOM – Brussels Bilingual Commission) pending the completion of our recognition file as a Centre d’aide aux personnes (CAP – Assistance Centre ) ;
• It became a member of the Fédération des services sociaux (FDSS), a federation of recognized and accredited social and psycho-social services in Brussels and Wallonia ;
• It received approval from the Federal Ministry of Finance to extend our authorization to issue tax certificates for the years 2018 to 2023.

And it also obtained the recognition by its “peers” (i.e. other charities): 42 partnership agreements had been signed since 2014, including with Fedasil, Convivial, Médecin du Monde, SIREAS, Centre Ariane, Via, BAPO, Samusocial, a large number of CPAS (municipal assistance centres), hospitals, medical local centres and other charities.

Year 2018

As our welcoming office did not meet the very strict CAP approval conditions, and particularly the architectural and town-planning rules, the search for new premises, which began in 2017, finally came to fruition after a year: the premises in the rue Sergijsels were found, and the deed of sale was signed in May. Patience, however: everything still needed to be designed, planned and built !

Of particular note were a visit from the management team of the Augustinians of the Assumption’s European Provincial Council and a computer attack on our website, twice.

Year 2019

The year will go down in our annals as having shaken us up in many respects :

• A new hacking attack, this time causing considerable damage.
• As a result of the positive development of the Association, a new functional structure was put in place. The operational organization was divided into three departments: Socio-Legal Guidance, Accompanying Support on the field and Volunteering Relations with partners, all of which managed by a salaried employee.
• We received two fresh recognitions, as diverse as unexpected: we were featured on the Brussels bus shelters (regional map) and in the DUNE’s Bon Plan programme. So, we became well and truly part of the Brussels social fabric !
• Partnership agreements were signed with two agences immobilières sociales (AIS – Social estate agents) to facilitate access to housing for our users.
• Planning permission was obtained for the new Sergijsels premises

Year 2020

This was Covid-19 year! While we had to seriously adapt our day-to-day operations to remain accessible to our users, we were not standing still:

• Our new 2020-2022 action plan was implemented;
• We took part in the social emergency hotline scheme (“Allo ? Aide Sociale”) set up by the Fédération des services sociaux (FdSS);
• We moved to our new premises in the rue Sergijsels in November;
• The new premises were inaugurated by MP and mayor Ahmed Laaouej and his small team ;
• Our application for approval as a Centre d’aide aux personnes (CAP – Assistance Centre) was finalized and submitted to the Commission communautaire commune (Cocom – Brussels Bilingual Commission);
• We started the overhaul of our IT infrastructure and gradual implementation of the applications required to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Year 2021

After the gradual appropriation of our new space, this year of the 20th and 15th anniversaries of the “Les Amis d’Accompagner” and Accompagner.bxl Associations saw a fine confirmation of the work accomplished over all these years with:

• Our approval (provisional for 1 year) as a Centre d’aide aux personnes (CAP),
• The permanent High Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid was prolonged for another period of 5 years

… and there was a new impetus to open up to our users and to collective and community projects :

• Welcoming and socio-legal guidance opening hours were extended from 20 to 30 hours a week ;
• We hosted and worked with the “Relais d’Action de Quartier” (RAQ – Neighbourhood Action Plan), sponsor of the “Alcov” project (local action against the virus) run by the Fédération des services sociaux;
• Meals were distributed to the needy on our premises, in partnership with the charity La Porte Verte;
• We took part in the “Café citoyen de Koekelberg”, the “Béguinage”, “Saint Ghislain” and “Bri-co” (Bureau de Recherche et d’Investigation des Communs) projects.

Year 2022

We moved ahead!

This time, after an inspection visit by Cocom, we received our definitive approval as a Centre d’aide aux personnes (CAP) for a period of 5 years!

And to make the party complete, we received enthusiastic visits from Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid and the Minister of Social Cohesion, Nawel Ben Hamou!

Let’s also pinpoint our “Team building” day, which brought together management and employees, and our new participation in local and regional projects:

• Jean Jacquet Sustainable Neighbourhood Contract (CQD);
• Submission of the “Vanhuffel Neighbourhood Committee” project;
• Urban Renewal Contract (CRU) project no. 6.